MONTOUR FALLS, Nov. 15 -- New York Lieutentant Governor Kathy Hochul visited the Chicone cabinet-building business in Montour Falls Wednesday -- to view an operation where high-end furniture is made and to see where an expansion is under way aided by a state grant.

Hochul, 59, a former Congresswoman, stopped in Montour Falls midway between two other area visits Wednesday -- at Cornell University and in Yates County for a Small Business Roundtable discussion.

Said Judy Cherry, executive director of the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development, the visit evolved after she was contacted by Hochul's office wondering if there was anything significant Hochul could visit in Schuyler County during her visit to the area. A member of Hochul's office said Wednesday that Hochul likes to visit each county in the state at least once a year, and hadn't been here since last year, when she was in Watkins Glen for a ceremony announcing the expansion and greening at the Watkins Glen State Park.

Cherry came up with the idea of a tour of Chicone Cabinetmakers -- and the visit, like last year's in Watkins Glen, proved a hit in Hochul's mind.

"I'm excited about your expansion, and I'll tell the governor about it," she told business owner Vincent Chicone and his wife Sarah after touring the cabinetry workshop off of South Street in Montour Falls, and after walking through the in-progress, 7,000-square-foot building at 118 Schuyler Street, behind Quinlans Pharmacy. The new structure will be used initially for storage, and "then we'll see. We need the space," said Vincent, grandson of Salvatore Chicone, founder of the Chicone Construction firm that still operates under Vincent's lead and which gave birth in 2002 to the cabinetry business.